Capsize

[Ozzie]

I was looking around the net for articles on wash board design as I'm replacing my tired original and came across this..

http://nolwandle.wordpress.com/2007/06/ ... ry-report/

I thought I would post the link as, even though its an OS site, it covers many topics we have discussed. Particularly note the retracting centreboard reference. Skipper was experienced, gear good and the crew had PDFs luckily, but still they came unstuck.

Centreboard would not be a real issue on a 563 but the openings would.

Comments?

[Yara50]

This story is set some 20 km from where I grew up. Hout Bay was a beautiful fishing village, surrounded by mountains that drop hundreds of metres straight down into the sea. Now much developed. The high road along the side of the mountain is often used in movies thanks to the spectacular scenery. The water is extremely cold, and the South Atlantic is open ocean. Not a place for a trailer-sailer with a swing keel and no lock down!

This type of incident is unlikely to happen to an Investigator 563 thanks to the fixed heavy ballast in the skeg, as well as the good flotation most Investigator 563s have.

Yara has had a knock down, with the lifelines in the water, and popped back up with not a drop of water in the cabin.

In contrast, early model Careel 18s with light swing keel, have been known to fill up on a knock down, and the trouble with most T/s which rely on form stability is that flotation under bunks does not help, as the weight of the boat is higher than the flotation. That is why Careels have been known to "turtle". The Investigator 563, in contrast, has the mass of the lead below the flotation, so even with water in the cabin, is still likely to stay upright.

All that said, if in rough water where water in the cockpit is possible, washboards should be in and secured. There was an instance with a Hood 23 some years ago sailing offshore at night off Sydney, where a wave over the stern washed through the cockpit into the cabin with no washboards, and down she went, with loss of life.

[BobK]

All the more confirms the advantages of sailing a well ballasted Investigator which doesn't depend on the CB for stability.

[snoopebj]

Interesting story Ozzie.
I don't herald myself as the ancient mariner and easy to judge after the event but
I would have to question the skippers' competency there.

1 A centreboard not only gives a boat righting movement and ballast it is essential for recovery after a knock down. Many times I hauled the old Corsair back up whilst standing on the centrboard and hauling up by the mast shroud. standard practice. Not having the centreboard locked down is fatal.

2. No floatation in the boat. This boat was unsuitable for off shore sailing.

3. non waterproof and faulty radio. VHF submersible radio in the cockpit essential for off shore work as well as standard 27meg radio down below as backup.

4. Going out in a 20-25 knot wind without lower washboard in.

All in all very lucky people being spotted and rescued. No way I'd be sailing with that skipper again!
As others have commented we have a beautifully designed boat - we have to be aware of its' limitations and show the ocean total respect.
Safe sailing.

[Ozzie]

I usually type at breakneck speed ...with one finger and a cup of coffee and use the spell checker to identify typos ..... such as CAPSISE instead of capsize I would not be embarrassed if I actually did not know how to spell capsize ...thats my excuse (fixed now)

Yes, the bloke was game not having washboards in. Apart from WBs my fixup will include better locking for my front hatch. My poptop has a large sliding padbolt and twin hasp and staples. Sliding hatch gets new slides this time and I think a turning handle release if I can rig it.

You would really be in the poo if you went sideways and your poptop opened

It would be interesting to find a way to "lock" the 563 CB in such away that it would not slam back up in the case in a knock down but still have enough movement to give when you touch bottom. There's a good one to ponder.

[geoffr]

Hi folks - great discussion point.

On my previous boat (not an Investigator), I installed a simple yet effective plate lock-down device in order for the boat to satisfy racing requirements that mandate a lock-down facility.

I drilled a 10mm hole through the top of the fibreglass plate case (above the water line), and mounted the bottom half of a galvanised post holder onto the case. This gave me a hollow metal tube through which I could then insert a gal rod of about 8-9mm diameter. This rod rested on top of the plate when it was fully dropped into position, preventing the plate from swinging up again until it was retracted. I secured the rod down into place from above with some shock cord, so that there was some 'give' if the plate hit anything.

It was crude but effective, and there were no leaks. It also made the boat compliant with racing rules.

But I remain mystified as to why lock-down devices were not standard built-ins to all TS designs, with the option of course of not using them if you knew you would be sailing in shallow waters, or sailing inland around submerged trees, etc (e.g. Lake Eppalock in Victoria).

Cheers,

Geoff

[Yara50]

Geoff
As noted in the posts above, there is no need for a centreboard lock-down on an Investigator 563, as it has fixed ballast keel, and the centreboard is only for windward performance.